


Downfall of the Moon

by CobraOnTheCob



Category: Original Work
Genre: A World of My Creation, Air Dragons, Dragon Empire, Dragons, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 00:03:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16902258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobraOnTheCob/pseuds/CobraOnTheCob
Summary: An empire begins to crumble...





	Downfall of the Moon

“I said, step aside.”

“Over my dead body,” the reply spat. Green eyes blazed in the gloom of the small cave, glaring at the armored pale dragon standing at the entrance. The pale dragon could see that beyond the dragon with green eyes were two dragonets, both with also had green eyes, were trembling.

“I only wanted dragonets. It doesn’t have to come down to this.” the pale dragon responded smoothly. The green eyed dragon narrowed her eyes. His mask was obscuring his face, making it hard to read him, but she knew that any dragon who took dragonets by force wasn’t exactly the most friendly of dragons.

“We’re a peaceful tribe, but we won’t give our dragonets to your cause,” the green eyed dragon replied.

“I’ll offer you a deal: You and your dragonets come with us and I’ll call off my dragons. Fair deal?” the pale dragon asked.

“Why would you want me for? I’m not the matriarch.” the green eyed dragon snapped.

“But is the matriarch as beautiful as you? You are the most beautiful dragon I’ve ever seen. My scouts spoke of a dragon with grass green eyes and grass yellow scales when describing each able-bodied warrior, but I think they’re wrong. You’re a dragon made of gold, with emeralds for eyes, and I think you’d be wonderful as my mate.” the pale dragon said with a voice of honey, but his blue eyes sparkled with danger.

“You dare speak of Morningwish that way? You dare to think that I’d forget my only love?”

“I didn’t mean to offend, but yes, I think that way, Grasswhisper. Such an odd name for a beautiful dragon.” he said, stepping forward. Grasswhisper let out a hiss and unsheathed her claws, her wings spread in a defensive position.  
“You’ll never have me as a mate, and my dragonets aren’t for you to take!” Grasswhisper snarled, her tail lashing.

“I always get my way, dear,” the pale dragon said, lifting his talons to cradle her jaw. Grasswhisper swiped his talon, then lunged, aiming for his armored throat. She crashed into him, knocking him over, and viciously attacked, trying to find a gap large enough in his armor. Her claws tore at the leather chords, ripping off the neck armor. The pale dragon gasped, his neck exposed, and kicked her away. Grasswhisper skidded across the cave floor before regaining her balance, making sure she was between this moon white dragon and her dragonets.

“The next chance you get, run to the tunnels! Remember, I love you both.” Grasswhisper murmured to the dragonets. A sneer came from the pale dragon.

“As if,” he cackled. Grasswhisper narrowed her eyes and lunged again, her claws aiming for the pale dragon’s throat. His blue eyes widened, and moved just in the nick of time, Grasswhisper’s claws only slicing the side of his neck. She leaped back, planting herself between her dragonets and the pale dragon again. The pale dragon pressed his talon to his neck, when he released, he saw how deep the scratch was. Fury rose in him, and he threw himself to the side of her and towards her dragonets. She screeched and sprang, wings spread, claws ready to protect and slash. Silence gripped both dragons for a moment, and then the world turned crimson. The silence was shattered with the thump of a body.

“Such a pity,” the pale dragon murmured, “that it had to end this way.” He licked his talons before he lowered his head towards the fallen dragon.

“Dragon with the scales pale as the moon, your time on the battlefield is over soon,” Grasswhisperer rasped, choking slighly.

“No,” the pale dragon whispered, but something drew him closer.

“The bird of darkness will hatch, and you will meet your match. Of twins of jade who have come of age, and that is the final act of your stage.” Grasswhisper gasped out, before finally falling limp. Her green eyes began to glaze, and that’s when the pale dragon saw the silver markings.

“NO!” he howled, cradling Grasswhisper’s head in his talons.

 

<>-<>-<>-<>

 

“NO!” the pale dragon gasped, scrambling for a moment before realizing he was only throwing blankets around. He couldn’t bear to relive that day, the day he killed Grasswhisper, fifteen years ago. He snarled, thinking, _Get ahold of yourself. Consult Cloudeye._ The dragon padded out of the cave and to another that he visited on a daily basis.

“Going to ask again if you can be with your warriors on the battlefield, Moonheart?” a dragon asked from the cave’s shadows.

“I know I can never fight again unless I want to die some horrible death thanks to visions, Cloudeye,” Moonheart growled, glaring at the dragon in the shadows.

“Ah, seers are not a dragon to be messed with. You kill one powerful seer, and you chain another. You forbid me to feel the air under my wings, which you know, is worse than death for any Air Dragon.” Cloudeye replied.

“Cut your superstitious nonsense, Cloudeye, and tell me why I keep seeing her death,” Moonheart snapped. Cloudeye glanced into the pale dragon’s bright blue eyes, though the last fifteen years haven’t treated him well. Moonheart was quite a handsome dragon, or so Cloudeye was told, as when Cloudeye first saw him, Moonheart was heavily battlescarred and dirty. Cloudeye remembered staring into the unstable bright blue eyes as Moonheart’s talons sliced into his own right eye.

“Don’t play the pronoun game around me, there were many female dragons that you’ve killed in your reign of terror,” Cloudeye mumbled in response. He shuddered when Moonheart lifted and unsheathed his claws, inspecting them as the light touched them. Cloudeye unconsciously reached up and touched his right eye, brushing the scars that were the obvious reminder of his own name.

“Why do I keep on seeing her? Why do I see her death? Why do I hear that stupid prophecy over and over again?!” Moonheart screeched, wings and temper flaring.

“I’m not a mind reader. I can’t stop these dreams, Moonheart. You know this. After you took me prisoner, the first thing I told you was - “

“‘They’re coming. You can’t stop them.’ Yes, I know they’re coming. But who? The bird of darkness, or the twins of jade? Or all three?”

“I could not see in that time. I had just recovered from the scars you gave to me. Young seers at six years old can’t see anything more colors associated with whoever they see. If I saw that now, it’d be clearer.” Cloudeye softly said, his ears drooping.

“Another thing,” Moonheart said suddenly. Cloudeye stared at the lunatic of a dragon.

“What do you mean, ‘Another thing?’” Cloudeye asked.

“I think I’ve figured out the prophecy. The twins of jade is referring to two dragons the hatched from the same egg and they’re jade in color, while the bird of darkness is either an owl, crow, or raven, with owls being night creatures and crows and ravens dark in color.” Moonheart said, triumph beginning to radiate from him.

“You only figured this out just now?”

“Oh, I knew the whole ‘twins of jade’ thing from the start. Grasswhisper’s dragonets, Jade and Stone, I separated the two and sent one to be raised in a completely obedient tribe while the other one I raised as a son. He’ll lead my warriors one day, for I know my first hatched son isn’t the brightest when it comes to strategy.” Moonheart snorted.

“You tried though,” Cloudeye said, stifling his laughter, though his left eye shone with amusement.

“Perhaps naming him Brightclaw made him more determined to prove his fighting abilities instead of making him like me,” Moonheart admitted, not even noticing Cloudeye shaking with amusement.

“And Stonelight was a good name?” Cloudeye asked. He briefly remembered that day, with the grey-jade green dragon taking a blow meant for Bright. Stone was still shaking from blood loss when Moonheart called out the young dragon, and Cloudeye recalled his friend’s protests of Moonheart making Stone move after taking a serious injury. Moonheart didn’t care, he was glad Bright was alive and well, but he wanted to play the fair father in front of all of his dragonets. The ceremony played out in front of Cloudeye, with Moonheart naming the grey-green dragon Stonelight, with light somehow being the hope that others would follow his example.

“Good enough where dragons are swooning over him,” Moonheart said, a bit of scorn in his voice.

“Do you not like the fact that Stonelight might be interested in a few handsome warriors I could name? I’ve seen futures where he and another dragon raise dragonets you orphaned.”

“Of course not! I have no problem with who he takes as a mate!” Moonheart growled. Cloudeye flicked one ear. A shadow fell into the cave entrance, and an armored grey-green dragon walked in.

“Oh hey, Stonelight. We were just talking about you.” Cloudeye politely greeted. Stonelight blinked before turning and bowing to Moonheart.

“Father, my scouts have come back from border patrol with a green male dragon. He said that he wants to train as part of the most elite of warriors.” Stonelight said. Cloudeye kept his growl from coming up. He hated to see Stonelight like this, bowing to a dragon who killed his mother and wasn’t his father by blood.

“Has this dragon said who he was?” Moonheart asked.

“No, he was shaking from exhaustion and collapsed after we asked why he was there. He’s in the healer’s cave right now.” Stonelight replied. Moonheart gestured for the young dragon to get up and the two left the cave. The scent of various plants, blood, and burns hit the two dragons as they entered the healer’s cave.

“Are you here for the green dragon?” a dragon asked from the shadows, barely looking up from a brown dragon they were attending to.

“Of course we are, Aloetongue. Remember who’s leader around here.” Moonheart snarled, raising his chin. Aloetongue glanced up and raised a brow before applying a bandage to their patient.

“Ah yes, and remember who patches up your warriors after disastrous battles,” Aloetongue replied smoothly. The brown dragon whimpered in pain.

“Where is the green dragon?” Stonelight asked, trying to be polite. He knew Aloetongue was a bit moody at times, especially when there was a pointless battle and that their words were more dangerous than an Ice dragon’s claw. He was glad that Aloetongue kept his words to insulting everyone instead of swaying public opinion to rebel.

“First cave to the right. All he needed was a bit of food and water. Nothing little Mottle can’t handle.” Aloetongue directed without looking up.

“Thank you,” Stonelight murmured, dipping his head to the healer. The healer ignored him, as they were focused on the broken leg that needed to be set. Moonheart and Stonelight walked into the cave Aloetongue had directed them to. The green dragon lay there, illuminated by the light of a stone lantern plant. The lighting made the green dragon’s entire form thinner than he actually was, from the deeper shadows on his cheekbones to his ribs and his eyes were large, almost haunted looking. In fact, Stonelight realized with horror, he could see every single bone jutting out.

“Who are you?” Moonheart immediately snapped, glaring at the skinny dragon.

“My name is Jade and I’m most comfortable being referred to as he/him or they/them. I came here because I wanted to be part of your most elite fighting force. You see, I come from a tribe that is low in rank and I don’t want to spend my days as a common soldier.” the skinny green dragon replied, with a voice hard as rock. Stonelight blinked, surprised that a weak looking dragon would have a strong voice.

“You have courage, arriving here like this. What do you have to offer?” Moonheart asked, curious.

“I can fight. I may not look like much, but I’m tough and I’m very nimble.” Jade said, returning Moonheart’s glare.

“Perhaps...when you’re not a walking skeleton,” Moonheart replied after a brief pause.

“I’ll show you a walking skeleton!” Jade shrieked furiously, exploding off the ground, claws ready to rip into Moonheart. The pale dragon’s blue eyes widened, then whipped to the side before ramming his head into Jade’s ribs. The skinny dragon went sprawling, wheezing as he struggled to get up.

“My case precisely,” Moonheart sneered, wiping the small amount of blood off of his head spikes. Jade’s eyes narrowed, their gaze suddenly suspicious. Jade smiled and turned to Stonelight.

“You may not know me, but I’m your brother,” Jade said quietly. Stonelight blinked his green eyes, which were the same shade of Jade’s.

“Just because we have the same eye color doesn’t make us brothers,” Stonelight replied. But something struck him, as he realized that their colors weren’t too different, though he was a little more grey in tone.

“You see something. You know that you aren’t that dragon’s son.” Jade hissed.

“I raised him didn’t I?” Moonheart interjected, displeased with how this was going.

“My mother’s prophecy is coming true. The twins of jade are here and your reign of terror is over.” Jade said, raising his chin in defiance.

“You were too young. You were only four when she died!” Moonheart snarled, then flinched when he realized his mistake.

“So you do admit that you know about her death. I know about her death because I can see the past. My power works in a strange way. Both my brother and I should’ve been both seers, but somehow on the night of the new moon, I was the first one to crawl out of the egg three hours where it would be at its peak, and by the time my brother came out, it was too late. The sun was beginning to rise, turning the sky the color of stone, according to my mother. Not only did I get the whole seeing the future deal, but I got the ability to see the past.” Jade cheekily explained, tilting his head so that the light caught onto the dark markings under his eyes that had been hiding in the shadows of his gaunt face. A single black line under each eye and a black scale near each one. Both dragons gasped.

“Thanks brother,” Stonelight muttered.

“Anyways, I knew I didn’t belong to the tribe you dropped me off in. Every single dragon was a red or an orange shade and once I knew where I lived for the first three years of my life, I left. I’ve been wandering this territory for years, gathering information about who I was. Waiting for the right time to avenge my mother’s death.” Jade said, flaring his wings.

“Don’t believe him, Stonelight,” Moonheart began. Jade raised a brow at the pale dragon, then suddenly hug tackled the grey green dragon. Stonelight gasped in shock as memories flooded through him. An arc of blood, a beautiful grass yellow dragon laying in a crimson pool of blood, two armored dragons approaching him.

“Do you believe my story now?” Jade asked quietly, releasing Stonelight from his embrace.

“You’re a dragon who just walked into this camp, announced himself as my brother, and tries to turn me against my father. Even if what you say is true, this dragon raised me. I cannot hurt a dragon who raised me.” Stonelight said after a moment.

“That dragon you call your father has orphaned you and so many other dragons!” Jade screeched, tears beginning to leak from his eyes.

“But a dragon who raised me deserves to be called a parent, right?” Stonelight replied.

“Moonheart hid the truth from you.” Jade said, flicking an ear.

“Father, tell me the truth. Please. Who was my mother and father who created me?” Stonelight asked. Moonheart flinched at the anguish in the grey-green dragon’s voice.

“Since you’ve gained so much favor with me, I’ll tell you both: your mother was beautiful, the most beautiful dragon I’ve ever seen. I was smitten the first time my scouts told me of her, a grass yellow dragon with grass green eyes. Basic pattern, no special markings that they could see. Yet, despite that, I wanted to know more. And when I finally met her, I saw that they were wrong. She was a dragon with gold for scales and emeralds for eyes. She was a beauty. Of course, she tried to kill me to protect you two and instinct told me to kill. I’m sorry. I killed the scout who spoke wrongly of her beauty, if that makes you feel better.” Moonheart said, his eyes far away, as if reliving those memories. His trance broke when he heard Stonelight sobbing.

“How could you say that in her memory?” He choked out, his wings shaking. Tears fell from his green eyes as he looked up the dirty white dragon.

“What do you mean?”

“You raised me, told me my mother left me as a dragonet! Now you tell me that my mother died protecting my brother and I, you heard her seeing your doom, and here I am! You don’t deserve to build an empire or a dynasty, and I’ll make sure of it!” Stonelight raged, blindly slicing his claws at Moonheart. The pale dragon staggered backwards, barely blocking the blows in time. He realized in horror that this was oddly familiar: a cave, and a dragon attacking him. Scratch that This time, there were two dragons attacking him. One grabbed at his chest armor and tore it off, the other ripping the neck plates off. His armor lay scattered and his scales felt air for the first time in fifteen years. That feeling was short lived. One dragon snarled, attacking his shoulder, while the other was charging to ram him. Moonheart’s fighting skills kicked in, he grabbed the dragon attacking his shoulder before throwing the green dragon into the charging dragon. The two brothers rolled before finding their footing. They snarled in unison, their tails flicking from side to side. Jade leaped forward, aiming for Moonheart’s throat. Moonheart met him head-on, grappling and snapping at the skinny dragon’s head. The scrawny dragon’s neck was too slippery for him to get a good grip on, so none of his usual neck snapping technique could be used here. A grey green blur flicked below the wing of the green dragon and before Moonheart could register what happened, he slammed into the cave wall, blood dripping from his stomach.

“It doesn’t have to end this way, Stonelight, really it doesn’t,” he said, as the two brothers approached him, their eyes cold.

“You may have raised me, but you lost your title and any respect I had for you,” Stonelight replied. Moonheart’s eyes widened in shock.

“I see you two don’t like being separated. How about you two be together in death!” Stonelight roared, his claws flicking out and striking at Jade. Jade stumbled backwards, clasping his talons over his throat. Moonheart sneered, but was suddenly tackled by Stonelight.

“The only one dying today is you,” Stonelight said flatly, grasping the pale dragon’s neck in his talons while he pinned the rest of his body.

“NEVER! HER VISION WILL NEVER COME TRUE!” he screamed, thrashing.

“Too late,” Stonelight snarled, and snapped the dragon’s neck. Aloetongue poked their head in, holding something in their jaws. They instantaneously set to work, prying Jade’s talons from his neck and covering the wound.

“Luckily he wasn’t hit near his jaw or a major artery. It’s a light scratch, it’ll heal, no problem.” Aloetongue murmured. Stonelight exhaled.

“Thanks,” Stonelight whispered, before stepping back. His mind was whirling with adrenaline still, and he thought of how only a few moments ago, he would do anything to protect Moonheart and now here he was, a dragon who killed someone who acted as their father. He didn’t realize that he was shaking until Aloetongue touched him.

“Your brother’s in stable condition...I may not be a mind reader, but I can tell you’re trying to recover from the shock on who is your family and your entire identity as a whole,” Aloetongue said, checking him for wounds.

“You’re right,” Stonelight said, flicking his tail once Aloetongue stepped back. The two dragons glanced at Moonheart’s body.

“So what are you two going to do now?” Aloetongue asked.

“I think I should leave. I have no ties here anymore and I just killed someone I’ve considered to be my father my entire life.” Stonelight replied. Aloetongue glanced to Jade.

“Jade will be fine in a day or two, he’ll be able to follow you if you don’t go too far,” Aloetongue said after a moment.

“Wait, before I leave, I want to talk about something: who is the bird of darkness and why did Moonheart go mad?” Stonelight asked. The two dragons heard footsteps and instantly stepped in front of Moonheart’s body. Cloudeye peeked his head in, his eyes curious.

“It’s just me, no one else. I came because I saw his death and I know that I’m free. I’ll come with you, Stonelight, if you let me.” Cloudeye said, his left eye full of hope.

“Alright, if you can explain who the bird of darkness is,” Stonelight said, smiling slightly.

“The bird of darkness has been spoken of twice. The first instance was thirty years ago, a bird of darkness is coming and on its sixteenth birthday, every single dragon will vanish. The second instance was your mother warning Moonheart about this day.” Cloudeye said.

“But who is this bird of darkness? It’s definitely not an actual bird, it has to be a dragon that’s dark colored - a stealth dragon, to be precise.” Stonelight said, his bro crumpled in confusion.

“Whoever the bird of darkness is, your mother’s words drove Moonheart mad,” Aloetongue said suddenly. The two dragons looked at him, ears raised.

“We know Moonheart went crazy after Grasswhisper’s death, but why did he go crazy?” Cloudeye asked.

“He knew too much. He knew that he was going to die. In fact, once he took you prisoner, he asked you all the time whether or not he should go out to battle. He went to you every day, hoping something would change.” Aloetongue replied.

“It got very annoying, having to tell him every day that no, you may not fight with your dragons today because you might got torn apart by an angry mother or you’ll get swarmed by Earth dragons or some other fun way to die,” Cloudeye said, his ear twitching.

“Cloudeye, you were never allowed to fly, weren’t you? You always had to stay in your cave, except for necessary functions of course.” Stonelight said quietly. Cloudeye turned, both eyes filling with confusion.

“Yes, that sums up my life,” he said glumly.

“I’m going to leave soon, and my brother will be following in a few days. I don’t think I can bear to make the journey alone...but…,” Stonelight trailed off, his eyes glinted almost mischievously.

“I don’t know how to fly,” Cloudeye whispered, embarrassed.

“I’ll teach you. Promise.” Stonelight said.

“You really will?”

“Let’s go if you want to live.”

“Okay.” Cloudeye glanced to Aloetongue, who shrugged his shoulders.

“I have to stay here and make sure Brightclaw gets the position as patriarch peacefully,” Aloetongue said.

“Farewell, my dear friend,” Stonelight whispered, then pulled Aloetongue into a hug. He let go after a second, knowing that Aloetongue wasn’t a big fan of being touched. Aloetongue shrugged again.

“Go, you two, before anyone else sees this,” he snapped prickily. Cloudeye and Stonelight ducked out of the cave and walked to the entrance of camp.

“Hey!” a guard yowled as the two passed through. Cloudeye turned.

“Shriketail, you know that Cloudeye has been wrongly imprisoned. Let us go.” Stonelight said, trying to keep his fear out of his voice. He knew that the grey dragon was highly loyal to Moonheart, though he suspected it was partly because Moonheart considered him and Shriketail to be a good match. The silver dragon stashed her spear onto her back and leaped down from her post.

“Give me one reason right now why I shouldn’t just let him go. You know every guard has orders to never let him leave.” Shriketail hissed, her snout dangerously close to his.

“You no longer have to fear my father,” Stonelight said coldly, stepping back.

“I don’t fear him. I respect him.” Shriketail said, raising her chin. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the little specks of blood on him.

“Let us go,” Stonelight said, turning.

“You killed your own father?” Shriketail asked incredulously.

“He’s not my father,” Stonelight said without a backward glance. Shriketail jumped in front of him.

“Spill,” she ordered, pointing her spear at his face.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Stonelight growled, “Now, please move.”

“You’re leaving with our only seer,” she protested.

“He has been imprisoned for too long.”

“For a good reason.”  
“There is no good reason to keep an Air dragon from flying. You know that.” Silence came from her, and she begrudgingly stepped aside.

“Go then. On one condition: I won’t call for the other guards to hunt you down if you return in four days. Just you. He can go free, but I want you back. Otherwise, I’ll summon the guards to hunt him down.”

“I agree to this,” Stonelight said, “Thank you.” She flew back to her post, and Cloudeye and Stonelight continued onto their journey.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a story for a school project, now posting here.
> 
> This is one of the many stories from a world that I'm creating, I'll get more content about it later.


End file.
